Do phalloplasties actually work?

[SilverTapz]

After wondering about this for a while, I ended up searching phalloplasty online and ended up on a Reddit page where people post their progress. I had never seen one before an was curious, I guess. It was actually quite shocking. People with what looks like no muscle left on their forearms, someone with a necrotic 'scrotum', someone where the stitches were wide open and the tip has turned black and left a gaping hole etc etc. People seem to be commenting saying that they look great, they've made the right decision etc, but honestly they look absolutely butchered. It's scary. And I guess my question is, do they actually function? Some of these people are so young and it's scary what they've done to their bodies. I can't help but think a lot of them will regret the decision. Is it mainly cosmetic? Can they orgasm? Honestly just very shocked by what I've seen!

No.

Yes it's cosmetic, not functional.

I don't believe it it likely that orgasm would usually be possible. For some, if enough clitoral nerve endings are saved, there might be a chance. I don't suppose the research has been done to find the magnitude of that chance.

In theory, once the scars from the initial surgery have healed, and if there are no infections or other side effects, a follow-up surgery can take place to provide an artificial insert that creates an "erection" functionality.

No, they never work. The goal seems to be standing to pee, which very few of them actually achieve.
Without complications, it's a multi- surgery process (maybe 5?), but of course, it's riddled with complications and many of these women get stuck in a surgery doom-loop.
There have been deaths associated with phallo, and many are left incontinent or with fistula, not to mention the necessary sacrifice of arm, leg, back and cheek tissue.
It is monumental self harm.

I wish I could link the photo here for those that want to see but I'm sure my thread would be deleted. I had no idea how horrific some of the outcomes are.

Could you post the page/thread name?

It is barbaric, and the surgeons who perform it should be jailed.

I’ve never seen anyone post videos without multiple complications/revision surgeries, and the hideous state that the skin donor site is left in should alone be a sign that only someone with very serious mental health issues would think it was a good thing to do to their body.

Mumsnet is such a sensible place to ask this question, well known as it is as a bastion of level-headed, well-informed trans healthcare advice. I'm sure you'll get some illuminating answers coming from a place of genuine knowledge, OP, which I'm also sure is what you're looking for with this wonderfully good faith question.

(Yes of course they work, trans men aren't mindless idiots and are capable of weighing up risks and benefits.)

No. There is no way to make them work for sex as you can't replicate erectile tissue, and there's no way to make them work for peeing as women's urethras are shorter than men's and so you have to lengthen the urethra, which is impossible as it is made from unique tissue in order to not burn through from being exposed to uric acid all the time so the grafts always fail.

If you are tech savvy and know how to access the kiwi farms there are many horrifying receipts there. If not there is academic info here: https://statsforgender.org/category/medical-transition/

Do you have a citation, please? OP has named her sources...

It is barbaric and the antithesis of 'first, do no harm'.
There also seems to be an associated culture of documenting the surgeries/complications and egging each other on. It's always 'totally worth it' no matter how horrific it's got.
For a deep dive, I recommend Exculansic who has done a series called the Phalloplasty Philes - she's been banned from TikTok and YouTube but I think her videos are on Odysee.

Or we could ask someone like transman Scott Newgent who's had one:

https://www.genderdysphoriaalliance.com/post/meet-scott-newgent

Yes that's what I found shocking. Looking at a piece of flesh which is black and necrosing but people commenting 'but look how amazing the base looks though'. I would be terrified if I looked down and that's what I had been left with. I'm really not trying to be goady, I'm just very, very concerned. I don't know why I thought it would be anything different, I just wasn't expecting that.

Transmen who have undergone this procedure pee standing up , get erections as a response to visual or physical stimulation, and ejaculate when they climax?

Blimey - I didn’t know that tbf-
every days a learning day on here

No. It's horrific.

I've found women on Mumsnet to be incredibly well read and informed about this type of thing. It clearly differs from your opinion, however my question arose from what I have seen, and it isn't pretty. It's scary. I would be incredibly concerned if my daughter was considering it.

Since if they are to emulate an erection they have to be pumped up (some opt not to have the pump so will not have erection function) then I guess the answer is no.

Considering the very high % of failures and the high % of future bladder issues, it is hard to understand if these female patients really are getting the honest risk assessment from their clinicians and their surgeons.

Plus, the long term pain and danger due to lack of feeling on the arms associated with the stripping of the arm skin and muscle layers have been well discussed too.

It needs to be ‘pumped up’
Manually with a pump ??
Christ on a bike …

It's absolutely barbaric. Given how high the failure rates are it's astonishing it's still allowed.

One person has posted a photo of their arm, and has had to go to a&e because the skin is sloughing off it and their tendon has gone black. It looks so dangerous, and sore. I just don't understand how it's ok to do this to people in their early 20s.

I’ve been googling ..
how on earth are doctors allowed to perform these Mengale-esque operations?

It's sad that these people will butcher their bodies to achieve a non functioning caricature of a penis (same with the reverse surgery) I saw a transwoman on a programme who's "neo vagina" looked like a butchered stitched up scrotum with a "line in the middle" like a child had sculpted. It's multilation.

If I fell in love with someone (yes I'd make an exception for you Aydian Dowling ! - Google people !) I'd rather accept they had a vagina and work with it than see a butchered surgical pretend penis.

yes.

There is no way to replicate erectile tissue and the nerves to recreate a reaction.

So, to emulate an erection, it needs a pump mechanism.

It is also well documented that these operations are very problematic too.

If the penis and testicles are splayed and inverted, there is potential for hair to grow inside the cavity. And the reports from those who opt to have a section of their colon or intestine used, the smell apparently is very concerning.

Most work. Might not be organically done, but most work.

Some experience recovery issues.

You're more likely to hear about the ones which didn't have the desired result, as people in those groups are more likely to talk about something they need support or reassurance over, than things which have gone right.

They don't remove muscle feom arms. Just skin. It's effectively a skin graft.

The important thing here is, it's a person's choice what they do or don't do with their body. You might not like it but it's not your body.